“I’m
blessed to be able to express my inner creative
and quirky personality through my paintings. I love the inventive nature of
my reverse painted panels and the surprise each piece reveals to me. I hope
my work brings a smile to your face as it does mine. Cheers!”
Gretchen Michaels
Gretchen Michaels' paintings are characterized by
vibrant colors and textures. Her use of both broad, sweeping lines and
delicate, intricate details give her work an expressive depth and dimension
truly unique to the contemporary art world. Inspired by family, nature and
ordinary objects of daily life, Gretchen's mission is to express her emotion
and energy through her paintings.
Formerly a corporate financial executive and CPA, Gretchen left the business
world in 2002 to pursue her true passion: Painting. She is a self taught
artist that has created her own methods for reverse painting on acrylic
panels.
Gretchen began by painting on glass panels because
she wanted to create industrial
modern, contemporary art. After discovering the limitations of working with
glass she researched plastics.
She discovered acrylic panels, which look amazingly like glass, and
began using them as her main painting canvas. The
medium she employs is
just as important a part of her artistic style as
the paint itself. The integration of unexpected materials and the free
floating effect of her framing style is characteristic of
her work. The light
reflection and shadowing cast by her framing method adds depth and complexity
to each art piece.
Her actual painting is
done in "reverse" as she paints on the back side of the acrylic
panel. Unlike
painting on canvas where the first painted layers get covered with each
additional layer of paint, you see her first layers, then less of each
additional layer. When the artwork is mounted using her custom built frames or stand off brackets,
you are looking at the paint through the acrylic panel. Many layers of
paint create the final effect.
Gretchen uses only the highest quality acrylic paints.
When properly displayed her paintings should not fade or discolor. Her
works are currently on display in both public and private collections in
California, Washington, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Colorado, Illinois,
Ohio, Texas, Nevada, New York, Norway and Australia.
Check out her resume,
including current affiliations and awards earned and read her personal bio
for more in depth information.
Photo credit courtesy of:
Andy Kitchen
Photography, www.andrewkitchen.com
